History columnist

Mark Landis

Mark Landis is a freelance writer for the Sun. He can be reached at: Historyinca@yahoo.com

The 2020 view of an original 1930 bridge on Route 66 in the Cajon Pass, just south of Cleghorn Road. This portion of Route 66 in the Cajon Pass is one of the most intact sections in Southern California, note the 15 Freeway on the hillside above. (Courtesy by Mark Landis)

As Route 66 turns 100, the ‘Mother Road’ still inspires nostalgia

May 11, 2026 at 12:56 p.m.

You’ll pass through thriving towns and ghost towns through the California leg of the road, framed by hundreds of miles of stunning scenery, writes columnist Mark Landis.

One of freighter Remi Nadeau’s 20-mule-team freight wagons, circa 1875. Nadeau operated a successful freighting company from the early 1860s to 1882. Nadeau’s 16-20 mule teams hauled approximately 200 tons of silver-lead bullion per month from the Cerro Gordo mines to Los Angeles during the peak of operations in the 1870s. (Courtesy photo)

Miners and freighters were key to the creation of Southern California’s earliest roads

April 15, 2026 at 10:09 a.m.

Many of those early passes are now freeways, writes Mark Landis.

The cornerstone ceremony on May 3, 1925, for the construction of the new Los Angeles Central Library on 5th Street, included the placement of a time capsule to be opened 100 years later. The library’s time capsule included a smaller, sealed 1881 time capsule from the cornerstone of the old Normal School that previously occupied the site. The contents were retrieved in 2025 for the library’s 100-year anniversary. (Photo courtesy the Los Angeles Public Library)

Time capsules share photos, letters and history, giving those who open them a chance to time travel

March 9, 2026 at 3:11 p.m.

The Kaiser Steel Company in Fontana built a capsule slated to be opened in 2054, and the LA Public Library opened a 100-year-old capsule last year when the library celebrated...

Construction continues on Highway 38 in October 2023 after storms washed out parts of the highway in the San Bernardino Mountains. Staff file photo by Terry Pierson — Staff Photographer

Southern California mountain highways are ‘critical’ transportation arteries prone to closures

February 9, 2026 at 3:21 p.m.

Extreme weather can often lead to highway closures in the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains. Mark Landis writes about the highways and what they've faces since they were built.

View of the Beacon Tavern on Route 66 in Barstow, circa 1940. The beacon towers were 125 feet tall and held a powerful spotlight designed to help aviators and motorists navigate at night in the early 1930s. (From the collection of Mark Landis)

Richfield Oil Company was an early creator of aircraft beacons in Southern California

January 12, 2026 at 1:15 p.m.

When air traffic picked up in the 1920s, pilots were left to navigate on their own, then others started to step in.

Hundreds watch as the Christmas tree is switched on during the annual lighting ceremony at Ed Hales Park in Redlands in this November 2023 file photo. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

When did Christmas trees start to appear at Southern California holiday celebrations?

December 8, 2025 at 12:29 p.m.

The tradition began in Germany, settlers moving west brought with them the things they were accustomed to.

A postcard view of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, circa 1970, showing the tourism that developed around the town’s mysterious magnetic feature. (Photo from the collection of Mark Landis)

From the Mystery Spot near Santa Cruz to the Mystery Shack near Barstow, magnetic hills are always a draw

July 7, 2025 at 9:35 a.m.

Hollywood was once known for its magnetic hill, just above Sunset Boulevard, writes Mark Landis.

L.T. Gotchy’s photo of the “Great Model T and Locomotive Race,” dated Aug. 24, 1947, shows the contestants poised for the drop of the flag. After a flurry of smoke, steam, and dust, the Model T (on the right) emerged victorious. The locomotive is Kimball’s Emma Nevada, and Gotchy’s 1914 Model T is parked on the left. (From the L.T. Gotchy Collection at the San Bernardino Historical and Pioneer Society)

The (almost) forgotten tales of Disney animator’s Grizzly Flats Railroad in San Gabriel

May 12, 2025 at 11:57 a.m.

Much of the backyard railroad can now be seen at the Southern California Railway Museum in Perris.

Pacific Electric Railway car 5013 emerges from the Hollywood Subway Tunnel, entering the Toluca Yard in June 1955. The tunnel was built in 1925 at a cost of $1.25 million, and it was retired in 1955. (Photo by Ted Damon, from the Pacific Railroad Museum Collection)

How some Southern California tunnels are still used, while others have vanished

February 10, 2025 at 11:55 a.m.

We continue to explore some of the most notable and interesting tunnels in the region, writes Mark Landis.

The history of some Southern California tunnels and why they were built

February 10, 2025 at 11:54 a.m.

Columnist Mark Landis details some of the notable tunnels in the region.

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